Soviet Intellectuals and Political Power: The Post-Stalin Era

Vladimir Shlapentokh

Published by Princeton University Press 1990

Soviet Intellectuals and Political Power

The Post-Stalin Era

Vladimir Shlapentokh

Volume 1093 in the series Princeton Legacy Library

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400861132

Overview
Contents

About this book

In this unprecedented work on the status and role of intellectuals in Soviet political life, a former Soviet sociologist maps out the delicate, often paradoxical, ties between the political regime and the creative thinkers who play a major part in the movement toward modernization. Beginning with Stalin, Vladimir Shlapentokh explores the mutual need and antagonism that have existed between political leaders and intellectuals. What emerges is a fascinating portrayal of the Soviet intellectual network since the 1950s, which touches on such topics as the role of literature and film in political opposition, levels of opposition (open, legal, and private), and the spread of paranoia as fueled by the KGB. Throughout he shows how the intellectual communityusually a cohesive, liberal grouphas fared under Khrushchev's cautious tolerance, Brezhnev's repressions, and now Gorbachev's Glasnost.

Shlapentokh maintains, however, that under Glasnost freer speech has revealed a more pronounced divergence between liberal and conservative thinkers, and has allowed for open conservative opposition to the reformatory measures of Gorbachev and the liberals. He argues that one of the strongest checks on reform is the growing presence of Russophilism--a movement supporting Russian nationalism and Stalin's concept of socialism--among the political elite and the masses. Although the role of the liberal intellectuals in the late 1980s was less prominent than it was in the 1960s, Shlapentokh asserts that they remain the major agent of modernization in the Soviet Union, as well as in other socialist countries.

Originally published in 1990.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xv
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xvii
CHAPTER ONE. Soviet Intellectuals in the Soviet Structure: Love-Hate Relationships with the Political Elite Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
CHAPTER TWO. The Intellectuals' Values and Orientations: Between Hedonism and Altruism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	30
CHAPTER THREE. The Intellectuals' Subculture: A Quest Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	62
CHAPTER FOUR. Soviet Intellectuals: Oppositional Views and Inconsistent Political Behavior Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
CHAPTER FIVE. The 1960s: The Heroic Age of Soviet Intellectuals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
CHAPTER SIX. Liberal Socialism: The Main Ideological Trend of the 1960s Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
CHAPTER SEVEN. Intellectuals in the Time of Political Reaction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
CHAPTER EIGHT. Russophile Ideology: A Trend That Rose to Dominance in the 1970s Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
CHAPTER NINE. Intellectuals Live in the Chosen Land: Gorbachev's Glasnost Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	224
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	280
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	287
Name Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313

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